Republicans

Mediaite reports: “Oh get the fuck out of here,” said one Fox insider, who had not heard the news, when Mediaite informed them that Pompeo had been hired. “Nauseating,” they added. “This is so needless. He would have come on the channel anyway.” “He’s obviously just trying to get more exposure before his 2024 run,” another staffer said. Pompeo infamously …

Topeka’s ABC News reports: After his arrest at 12:49 a.m. on March 16, the officer’s report reveals that the Senate Majority Leader commented “All for going the wrong way” and referred to him as “donut boy” while in the intoxilyzer room. Suellentrop, 69, refused a breathalyzer test, however, Judge Penny Moylan signed a search warrant for a blood sample. At …

NPR reports: ARI SHAPIRO: And so if you were to hear today from one of those transgender minors and their parents who had been getting hormone treatment and will have to stop under this law, like, what would you say to them? ASA HUTCHINSON: Well, I’m sorry, and that’s exactly the reason I vetoed the bill is because we wanted …

The Tennessean reports: Tennessee is officially one of 19 states where permitless gun carry will be the law. Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday signed a bill allowing most adults to carry a handgun without a permit, an effort that was at the top of his legislative agenda for the year. The law takes effect July 1. It allows people 21 …

Politico reports: Rep. Adam Kinzinger called on fellow Republican lawmaker Matt Gaetz to resign Thursday night, making him the first Republican to do so since it was revealed that the Justice Department is investigating the Florida congressman over sex trafficking allegations. Kinzinger (R-Ill.), an Air Force veteran and one of former President Donald Trump’s fiercest critics within the party, has …

The Daily Beast reports: In two late-night Venmo transactions in May 2018, Rep. Matt Gaetz sent his friend, the accused sex trafficker Joel Greenberg, $900. The next morning, over the course of eight minutes, Greenberg used the same app to send three young women varying sums of money. In total, the transactions amounted to $900. The memo field for the …

Mediaite reports: The attorney for an associate to Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) suggested the embattled congressman had reason to be concerned that his client was working with prosecutors to build a case against him. “I’m sure Matt Gaetz is not feeling very comfortable today,” Fritz Scheller, an attorney to former Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg, said in an afternoon …

The Insider reports: GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz released a statement from the “women” of his office defending him amid an escalating sex scandal, but no women were named and no one signed the statement. The statement, signed by “The Women of the Office of U.S. Congressman Matt Gaetz,” said: “After the shocking allegations last week in the press, we, the …

The Hill reports: Jerry Falwell Jr. on Thursday said he received his COVID-19 vaccination and encouraged others to do the same, while in the same online post knocking what he called Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s (D) “mindless restrictions.” “Got the 1st Moderna vaccination today!” Falwell wrote in a post on Instagram, calling on his followers to “get vaccinated so our …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush said Thursday he is “seriously considering” running for attorney general in 2022 — and detailed how he would challenge the incumbent, embattled fellow Republican Ken Paxton. “There have been some serious allegations levied against the current attorney general,” Bush said in an interview with Dallas radio host Mark Davis. “Personally …

Politico reports: The legal peril Rep. Matt Gaetz is facing appeared to increase sharply after a court hearing indicated that one of his close friends, former Seminole County, Fla., tax collector Joel Greenberg, is likely cooperating with federal prosecutors. The federal probe looking into whether Gaetz had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her travel began …

Via press release from Fox News: FOX News Media has signed former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as a contributor, announced its CEO Suzanne Scott. Pompeo, a diplomat, public servant, entrepreneur and attorney, will offer analysis across all FOX News Media platforms, including FNC and FOX Business Network’s (FBN) daytime and primetime programming. He will make his first appearance on …

Via press release from GOP Idaho Gov. Brad Little: Governor Brad Little signed an executive order today banning any State of Idaho governmental entity from requiring so-called “vaccine passports” – or proof of COVID-19 vaccination for citizens to receive public services or access facilities. “Idahoans should be given the choice to receive the vaccine. We should not violate Idahoans’ personal …

NBC News reports: Rep. Lee Zeldin announced Thursday that he is running for governor of New York in 2022, becoming the first high-profile Republican to launch a challenge to embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Zeldin, 41, who has represented eastern Long Island since 2015, shared his decision on Fox News and posted it on Twitter, saying that to save …

From Sen. Rand Paul’s interview with Breitbart: “If they want to boycott us, why don’t we boycott them? This is the only thing that will teach them a lesson. If Coca-Cola wants to only operate in Democrat states and wants only Democrats to drink Coca-Cola, God love them.” “We will see how well they do when half of the country …

The New York Daily News reports: NRA chief Wayne Lapierre said Wednesday hunting and shooting African wildlife is just part of his job. Testifying at a Texas bankruptcy court hearing convened as part of the pro gun-group’s effort to evade a move by New York officials to put it out of business, LaPierre said hunting water buffalo and elephants on …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: Former Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg claimed to have explosive devices and threatened to harm himself while negotiating his surrender with deputy sheriffs in early March, which delayed for hours his arrest for violating his bond conditions, newly released records state. In an incident report, Seminole County Deputy Jerome Grunat wrote that when he …

CBS News reports: Federal investigators are looking into a Bahamas trip Matt Gaetz allegedly took in late 2018 or early 2019 as part of an inquiry into whether the Florida representative violated sex trafficking laws, multiple sources told CBS News. Gaetz was on that trip with a marijuana entrepreneur and hand surgeon named Jason Pirozzolo, who allegedly paid for the …

The Birmingham Herald reports: After initially denying reports of an affair, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill on Wednesday afternoon told AL.com that he had “an inappropriate relationship” with a 44-year-old woman and will not make an anticipated run for the U.S. Senate. In an interview with AL.com on Wednesday morning, Merrill denied having had an affair and accused Cesaire …

The Huffington Post reports: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said Tuesday voters waiting in line in Georgia could order food from Grubhub or UberEats after a new state law criminalized offers of free food and water near polling stations. “They can order a pizza,” Kemp said on the conservative cable news network Newsmax. “They can order Grubhub or UberEats, right?” Among …